Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka's all-time greatest bowler, has grabbed headlines again due to his remarks on democracy and the country's system of law.

In an interview with BBC Sandeshaya, Muralitharan belittled the importance of democracy and rule of place, saying they were secondary to the basic needs of the public, such as meals and housing.

"When people elect lawmakers, they don't ask for democracy and rule of law. They demand three meals to eat and a good education for their children," Muralitharan said during the interview, predicting that he would earn severe social media backlash due to his controversial views.

Muralitharan also referred to a recent incident where a 9-year-old girl in the Northern province committed suicide due to economic hardships.

"Tamil politicians talk about rights and democracy. They also focus strongly on what happened in the past. Unfortunately, there is no one to attend to the needs of the poor," he explained.

He said it was important to admit that Sri Lanka was a Sinhala-Buddhist country.

"They are the majority and we need to admit it. We are the minority, "Muralitharan said adding that " both sides" suffered due to the three decade long war. "Both sides committed mistakes. We need to admit that move on."